Rival impressions

[jthurow]

With Soulspinners Rival v. Chorus post (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=24797), I thought I'd offer my belated initial impression of the Rival stuff I put on my CSi (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=24521). I only have a couple of rides on it so far. I really like the design of the levers. I have fat hands with short fingers and the reach from the drops to the levers is comfortable as are the hoods. I love riding on these hoods. I have them on some Nitto 176/Dream bars and the transition from ramp to hoods is great. I also functionally like how the levers are angled outward which ergonomically seems to work well for me.

I also ride STI (& friction) and the DoubleTap shifting is easy to transition to and understand. One thing I noticed is that you have to be decisive when shifting or you are going to down shift. Shifting seems precise and quick. If I was splitting hairs, I think I do tend to upshift a bit slower with the DoubleTap. Not sure if it's user or design error at this point; more research on my part is needed. The levers work well with the first generation 105 SLR brakes they are mated to (I love these brakes, btw).

One thing that I thought was a bit odd when setting up the derailleurs was that it took a bit more adjustment than when I work on my STI system. I needed to tweak the barrel adjusters more than I expected, especially to enable the front derailleur to swing far enough away from the bike to not rub the chain when I'm in the big ring and small cog. I'm using a old Suntour XC Pro crank. Another interesting tidbit, the levers take 1.1 thick derailleur cable which is narrower than the 1.2 shimano cables. I didn't think the .1 difference would matter, but I couldn't fit a 1.2 derailleur cable through the guide in the levers.

jimi

[soulspinner]

Thanks,man.

[Xyzzy]

One thing that I thought was a bit odd when setting up the derailleurs was that it took a bit more adjustment than when I work on my STI system. I needed to tweak the barrel adjusters more than I expected, especially to enable the front derailleur to swing far enough away from the bike to not rub the chain when I'm in the big ring and small cog. Doesn't Sram use a much larger cable pull per shift than Shimano/Campy? That could explain why you needed to tweak the cable adjuster more. Or is that only for the rear derailleur?

[Smiley]

I purchased two sets of this Rival Grouppo , one for my wifes new CDA due to the ergonomics of the brifter over Shimano 10 speed and one for my Hors bike as an up-grade to my 9 speed DurAce grouppo. What i see I like so far but have yet to install and use it. My wife loves the shape and feel of the brifters and so do I. Nothing wrong with having another player in the game !